American Airlines to cut 30 percent of management, administrative staff

An American Airlines plane.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

American Airlines told employees on Wednesday that it plans on cutting its management and administrative staff by 30 percent, as the company struggles with low demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

American has about 17,000 management and support workers, and the move will eliminate more than 5,000 jobs. Because of the pandemic, the number of passengers on planes plummeted in March and April, and airlines believe it could take years before travel is back to where it was pre-pandemic.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.